The US global organisation Toastmasters has been active in Antwerp for more than a decade. Within the port community, the ‘Maritime Toastmasters’ have also been active since 2019. They met for the hundredth time at the Antwerp Port House.
The festive hundredth meeting of Toastmasters Port of Antwerp-Bruges took place on Monday 11 September 2023 at the Antwerp Port House. Toastmasters helps its members practise and improve their speaking and leadership skills.
“There are about 25 clubs operating in Belgium,” says chairman Dimitri De Praetere. “We are a corporate club, because we were founded from the port house. Initially, the intention was to train only Port of Antwerp-Bruges employees in public speaking, but it was soon opened up to anyone working within the port community. Our members have since come from companies such as Fast Lines, H.Essers, BASF, MSC and CMA CGM.”
Inspired speakers
Using a number of techniques and evaluation, members of Toastmasters aim to practise speaking in front of an audience. “Not everyone is born an inspired speaker, but using Toastmasters’ techniques will get you a long way,” says De Praetere. “With us, you learn how to use the stage, how to maintain eye contact with your audience. You also get to know yourself better. A big advantage of Toastmasters is that it is not a one-off course, as you often see in management courses.”
“We meet several times a month which allows you to keep practising and improving yourself. We also work according to a strict direction where a lot of people are given separate roles. For instance, there is someone who pays attention to pronunciation, use of language and how someone uses the stage. Someone else is timekeeper or watches the number of ‘euhs’ that pass during the speech. In this way, everyone is actively involved in the meeting. By paying attention to others’ mistakes, you start paying attention to your own. We also practise evaluating each speech in a positive way.”
Content of secondary importance
The Toastmasters get the basic knowledge and theory from the website. “Through assignments, members then start preparing their speeches. Improvisation is also practised during each meeting. Some members often practise their speeches during our meetings before delivering them in front of a live audience,” says De Praetere. “The content of the speeches is of secondary importance. It’s mainly about how you bring the story.”
Quite a few finalists of the ‘Flows Rookie of the Year’ election, Flows’ search for the most promising newcomer in the logistics and port world, have been mentored by Toastmasters Port of Antwerp-Bruges in the past.
